Envisioning decentralized finance (DeFi) as a crucial service to assist traders through bear markets, IPI Labs built Shorter Finance into a 100% on-chain infrastructure encompassing venues for single-sided token farming, customizable derivatives trading and foolproof liquidation with foresight. It notably brings margin trading and physical delivery to the DeFi landscape with an open-source ethos, allowing users to short tokens, without interference from centralized services. 

Having successfully completed preliminary testing rounds on February 25, 2022, IPI Labs is pleased to announce the launch of the Shorter Finance Beta Version. To better understand its unique features, let’s first explain what Shorter Finance is and how to interact with this sophisticated decentralized infrastructure. 

Getting started 

This beta version authorizes users to participate in the final testing process to refine Shorter Finance, allowing them to immerse themselves in this brand-new decentralized application (DApp). IPISTR, Shorter Finance’s governance token, is linked to several key activities, such as maximizing the privileges of Rulers or voting for diverse proposals that are relevant to the entire protocol. Ready to embark on the path to conceptualizing the value proposition of IPI Labs’ new DeFi solution? 

Shorter Finance allows users to: 

  • Earn farming yield by staking single-sided idle tokens. 
  • Borrow tokens from pools for margin trading with leverage.
  • Avoid losses when encountering dramatic spikes.
  • Obtain passive income from governing activities and liquidations.

Shorter's participants are classified into three major categories and may engage in these three roles at the same time to explore the possibilities. 

  • Providers take farming profits by supplying liquidity for the loan pool. 
  • Traders rely on loan pools to leverage funds to meet trading needs.
  • Rulers, the bedrock of Shorter Finance, utilize their governing rights to vote on proposals and become beneficiaries by liquidating the positions approaching closeout levels.

Earn from single-sided token farming as a Provider

In a token loan pool, Providers can deposit single-sided tokens to earn rewards. Here are the three main steps for a Provider to try the staking process:

  1. Launch the Shorter Finance app, connect to a wallet and join the Beta program.
  2. Navigate to the "Pools" section, then select and enter one of the sETH pools. 
  3. Approve and deposit the sETH tokens one would like to farm.

Once the transaction is confirmed in the wallet, check "My Portfolio" to see the staking rewards one may be entitled to. 

One can add some test tokens by following these steps: 

  • Click “Tutorial.”  
  • Request Ether from the Rinkeby Testnet. 
  • Be sure to claim both ETH and USDT test tokens. 

Short any token as a Trader 

Traders can select a token loan pool to open short positions or manage the lifecycle of their positions in an accurate manner.

Simply launch the program and select a pool as described in the first two steps above and then follow these steps:

  1. Type the number of test tokens and click "Short sETH."  
  2. In the "Position Info" window, confirm the leverage and margin, then submit the order. 
  3. One can review their P/L by clicking "My Positions" and selecting "Trade" will let one manage their position. 
  4. One can "Sell Short" or "Buy to Cover" in the pop-up window. 

How Shorter Finance protects traders 

Let's use a real-world example: On May 22, 2022, the cryptocurrency market fell suddenly and the CELO token's price dropped to $1.50. 

On a centralized exchange, John opened a 5x leveraged position and short-sold 100 CELO at $1.50. Meanwhile, on Shorter Finance, Alice set up a position with the same parameters.

The price of CELO surged up quickly to $2.40 a few seconds later. John is forced to cover because the margin call can't be fulfilled. Alice’s position was designated as a legacy position, waiting for the Rulers to bid in a physical delivery method on arbitrages.

In a short period of time, CELO's price plummeted to $1.42. John was left without a position as a result of his overdrawn account and forced liquidation. However, Alice's legacy position was closed in the liquidation proceeding and the realized P/L rate was set at +25%.

 

Here are a few key features:  

  • 100% on-chain, transparent management of a position’s life cycle 
  • Profitable full-featured pools for all token types 
  • Spike protection via physical delivery from automatic market maker (AMM) 
  • Reduction of negative trading slippage 
  • Direct lending pattern for physical delivery of cross-chain assets 
  • Flexible durations to hold positions from 1 day to 1000 days 

Exciting updates for the community 

Shorter Finance will be a prominent DeFi platform in the coming bear market, as it continues to integrate with messaging services like Discord and Telegram, wallet applications, exchanges and other important objectives. Think of it this way: one can talk to someone else in the group, all while their trading orders are transmitted to the blockchain through some letters and commands typed in the message box. Stay tuned for these updates! 

In addition to the unique and innovative nature of Shorter Finance, its community is growing rapidly with many successful traders and influencers. Without spending a cent, anyone can benefit from this early knowledge.